Shuffling off to Zuffalo

Somehow I was really in a Phish listening mood as of late.
Luckily, my friends from Must Stash Hat were playing a small club called
Yauca’s Lounge. This lounge was the size of your average basement and could
hold about 50 people. It is small and has a warm atmosphere that relaxes you to
stay around. It is on Dovercourt just north of Bloor.

Anyway, I digress; we were talking about chilled out music
that seems to fit this place like a glove. Must Stash Hat is such a perfect
band for this location. Just as they were getting on, a swarm of people showed
up and packed the place. Now this was turning into a fine Friday evening. To be
honest I do not know the titles to their songs, but you get the message really
fast. They open up with a very noodle on the brain kind of sound. They easily
slip into a grove funk piece that gets a few people moving. What I like about
their live performance is when they get into a great jam; they get all thick
and gooey. In fact when they used the space very well you simply went on a
wonderful ride with them. The only thing was, they could have used a little
more cowbell. They even played a cover of a Phish song that was an original
piece done by the Talking Heads.

Must Stash Hat is the kind of band that comes out to play. For an opening act they played for an hour and a half. They barely broke a sweat, but he crowd did as they danced a dance I never really saw before. But you will have to see the show to understand what I am talking about.

Here are some pics from Must Stash Hat’s performance:

The band up next was Zuffalo. Apparently a Zuffalo is a
special flute to train birds with. In the spirit of Phish, the band did a cover
of a Deodato song that was also covered by Phish in their wonderful career.
This seems to be the perfect bill, because they both carry that special torch
and they are not afraid to burn down a few avenues with it. They also know how
to extend a great jam and make it very pop sensible for everyone. This is one
of those moments where I get all cliché and say, the band that plays together
gets the crowd to sway together.

This is the kind of band that you would want to play in your basement, and with Yauca’s lounge hosting, it felt that way. This band goes into some serious melodic tinkering and turns it on into a space odyssey. With that said, I will leave you with another cliché. When they bring the funk the crowd brings the junk. Enjoy looking to see where these guys are playing next.